ZIP 95340 vs ZIP 95348

This side-by-side compares ZIP 95340 (Merced, CA) and ZIP 95348 (Merced, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 95340 has a population of 33,931 at 330 people per square mile, while ZIP 95348 has 30,805 at 250 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 95340 reports a median household income of $71,193 against $64,944 in ZIP 95348, with per-capita income of $35,660 vs $28,835. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.8% in 95340 and 23.4% in 95348. Poverty rate reads 18.3% vs 22.1%, and unemployment 11.6% vs 9.5% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $399,100 in 95340 versus $383,600 in 95348, with median rent of $1,317 and $1,551 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.2% vs 51.3%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.